The Kōloa District is the name of a modern political-judicial district encompassing the south shore of Kauaʻi.

In ancient times, the Kōloa District was part of a larger district called Kona. The Kōloa Heritage Trail travels through four ahupuaʻa. From east to west, they are: Māhāʻulepu, Paʻa, Weliweli and Kōloa.

Poʻipū is part of the Kōloa ahupua’a. One meaning of the name Poʻipū is crashing, as in waves crashing.

The Kōloa Heritage Trail is a 10-mile walk, bike ride or drive which includes 14 stops and monuments describing the significance of the location.

1. Spouting Horn Park

Spouting Horn Park was called puhi, or blowhole, by early Hawaiians. Legends tell of a huge mo‘o, or lizard, caught in this puhi, which was formed when waves eroded softer, underlying rock and wore through the harder top rock. Water rushing into the hole is forced through the narrow opening and shoots skyward.

2. Prince Kūhiō Birthplace & Park

Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole was born in Kōloa in a grass hut near this beach to Princess Kinoike Kekaulike and High Chief David Kahalepouli Pi‘ikoi. He became a delegate to U.S. Congress after Hawai`i became a Territory in 1900, serving for 19 years. He worked tirelessly on behalf of the Hawaiian people.

3. Hanakaʻape Bay & Kōloa Landing

Once, Kōloa Landing was the third largest whaling port in all of Hawai`i and the only port of entry for foreign goods. The Sugar industry increased its use until 1912, when better facilities became available elsewhere. Goods and people were transferred by hand and small boat to ships in Hanaka‘ape Bay.

4. Pa‘u a Laka – Moir Gardens

What began as a hobby garden by the Kōloa Plantation Manager’s wife became celebrated as one of the world’s best of its kind. Numerous cactus planted in the 1930s thrived in the arid, rocky soil here. Many escaped to surrounding areas to become naturalized over time. You’ll also find water lily-filled lava rock ponds, koi and a variety of orchid and cactus species.

5. Kihahouna Heiau

The walled heiau (temple) that once stood here was 130 feet by 90 feet; dedicated to Kane, a major god of Hawaii; Hulukoki, a bird god; and Ku-hai-moana and Ka-moho-alii, two shark gods. Three hala-lihilihi-ula trees situated on the outside of the naupaka hedge mark the heiau perimeter.

6. Po‘ipū Beach Park

Abundant, easy-to-view marine life in calm waters is a major attraction at Po‘ipū Beach. The endangered native Hawaiian Monk seal and threatened Green sea turtle are frequent visitors. From November through May, the endangered Humpback whale appears. Ancient Hawaiians fished and played here and harvested salt in dug-out evaporating pans nearby.

7. Keoneloa Bay

Between 200 and 600 A.D., early visitors arrived at Keoneloa Bay, meaning long sand, likely from the Marquesas Islands. They used the area as a temporary fishing camp, leaving behind stone-age tools, remnants of heiau, or temples, and ahu, or altars. They prayed to Kane‘aukai, an important fishing god.

8. Makawehi & Pa‘a Dunes

The lithified sand dunes of Makawehi, calm face, and Pa‘a, hard rock, yield fossilized plant roots, bird bones, crab claws and other treasures. Prior to extensive wave erosion, this prominent limestone ridge extended across Keoneloa Bay. During March through November, water birds visit and sea birds nest and roost in the dunes.

9. Pu‘uwanawana Volcanic Cone

More than 5 million years ago, a hotspot in the earth spewed lava upward to form the volcanic mountain island of Kaua‘i. Nearby Ha‘upu Ridge and Mountain contain some of the oldest geologic formations. Look for the youngest volcanic cones such as Pu‘uwanawana, within view. Weathered volcanic material produced rich agricultural plains.

10. Hapa Road (Hapa Trail)

Lava rock walls near Hapa Road signify Hawaiian habitation ca. 1200 AD, while the road dates to the late 1800s. Nearby tracks once held trains hauling cane to Kōloa Plantation for milling. Hapa Road served as a supply and emergency evacuation route during World War II, and at various times a foot- and bicycle path.

11. Kōloa Jodo Mission

Buddhist temples provided Japanese immigrants a place to worship, study their language, learn martial arts and participate in social events. This Jodo Mission used a specialist in temple architecture from Japan to build the large temple’s interior. Hand-painted, wooden ceiling tiles were a gift from the Japanese artist who rendered them.

12. Sugar Monument

Ancient Polynesians were the first to bring sugar cane to Hawai’i. Starting with its first cane seeding in 1835, Kōloa Plantation was the first in Hawai’i to successfully mill cane commercially for export. It set the precedent for free housing and medical benefits for its immigrant employees from China, Japan, East and West Germany, Portugal and the Philippines.

13. Yamamoto Store & Kōloa Hotel

Built at the turn of the 20th century, The Yamamoto Building functioned at various times as a plantation camp store and general store with service station. Behind it, the Kōloa Hotel offered rooms to traveling salesmen and actors. The o-furo, or hot tub, provided a relaxing soak to guests.

14. Kōloa Missionary Church

Kōloa Missionary Church sanctuary is part of a homestead once owned by Dr. James W. Smith, a medical missionary. In 1842, he began a practice of over 40 years, later becoming an ordained minister at The Church at Kōloa. His grandson, Dr. Alfred Herbert Waterhouse, added a clinic to the homestead in 1933.

The Poʻipū Beach Resort Association and its Po‘ipū Beach Foundation are the major sponsors of the trail map and brochures. You can easily download a descriptive map at: koloaheritagetrail.info

All of these sites are being included as Points of Interest in the Holo Holo Kōloa Scenic Byway; we are working with the Kōloa and Poʻipū communities in preparing the Corridor Management Plan for the Scenic Byway.

In addition, I have added images of each site on the Kōloa Heritage Trail in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook page.

We went last year and are already signed up for this one – I suggest you do, too. It’s lots of fun and a good learning experience.

Portrayed in the June Hawaiian Mission Houses Cemetery Pupu Theater program will be:

John Papa I‘i (1800-1870) – Served Kamehameha I, II, III and IV; was general superintendent of O’ahu schools; was appointed by the king to the Treasury Board; was a member of the Privy Council; Board of Land Commissioners and was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Hawai‘i .

Cherilla Lowry (1861-1917) – Founder and first president of the Outdoor Circle (TOC) (100-years ago) whose mission was to “Keep Hawai‘i clean, green and beautiful.”

Eliab Grimes (1780-1848) – A fur trader whose voyages in illegal activities brought him face-to-face with the Spanish Armada, and required ransoming a crew which included John Dominis, the future would-be father-in-law to Queen Lili`uokalani.

Lucy Thurston (1795-1876) – Wife of Asa Thurston and part of the first company of American Christian Missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands. She underwent a mastectomy without anesthetic in 1855. She died on October 13, 1876 in Honolulu.

Lorrin Andrews (1795-1868) – An early American missionary to Hawaii and judge. In June 1831 the mission hoped to establish a seminary on Maui, since it was somewhat centrally located among the Hawaiian Islands. Andrews was selected to run the school called Lahainaluna for “upper Lahaina”.

Join the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives tomorrow, May 30, at 5:30 pm to celebrate the launching of “Engraved at Lahainaluna”!

Lahainaluna Seminary (now Lahainaluna High School) was founded on September 5th 1831 by the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions “to instruct young men of piety and promising talents”.

In December, 1833, a printing press was delivered to Lahainaluna from Honolulu. It was housed in a temporary office building and in January, 1834, the first book printed off the press was Worcester’s Scripture Geography.

Besides the publication of newspapers, pamphlets and books, another important facet of activity off the press was engraving.

A checklist made in 1927 records thirty-three maps and fifty-seven sketches of houses and landscapes, only one of which is of a non-Hawaiian subject.

That brings us to a newly printed book “Engraved at Lahainaluna,” offered through the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives.

It’s here and being processed for sales – if you like things of Hawai‘i, this is something you will want to add to your collection.

Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives invites the public to celebrate the launching of Engraved at Lahainaluna, on Wednesday, May 30, at 5:30 p.m. at Hawaiian Mission Houses.

For more information on the book launch, or to purchase Engraved at Lahainaluna, please call 447-3923 or visit www.missionhouses.org.

The Kāne‘ohe Yacht Club was organized on October 28, 1924, with the original Club site on the western side of Kāne‘ohe Bay.

Opening ceremonies at the present site were held on December 17, 1955. Reportedly, Kāne‘ohe Yacht Club is the oldest Yacht Club in Hawai‘i, in terms of continuous service.

When we were kids, KYC and the Bay were our back yard.

Our house was about a block away. An entrance gate to the club was at the end of the street of the old neighborhood.

A significant milestone and rite of passage in life was turning 10-years of age – it was then that you could go down to the Yacht Club on your own, without adult supervision.

Lots of the club is pretty much the same. (However, to add more mooring spaces, there is a new parallel dock on the right side of the image below (where the El Toros are sailing.)

The place was kid-friendly and accommodating to young adults. Back in the day, the Long House was available for periodic teen dances (hundreds of us packed the place.) (Does anybody else remember the Vaqueros?)

We’d keep the Boston Whaler down there, and on a moment’s notice could run down and hoist it into the water for running around the Bay.

Back then, the clover-leaf opening in the reefs on the Marine Base side of the Club was the “ski lanes.”

Two rafts were anchored across each other to keep you high and dry, while others in the group skied around the loop. (It’s now used for mooring of larger boats.)

The Whaler also took us to all other points of interest on the Bay, camping at Coral Island, Kapapa and Chinaman’s Hat (Mokoli‘i;) fishing and diving across the bay; and just general cruising around.

In addition to the ski/cruising outboard boat, we first had the Mokuone, then Na Ali‘i Kai, then Lanakila fishing boats and regularly entered the Club’s fishing tournaments.

In addition to mooring and dry storage areas, the Club has two tennis courts, a swimming pool and a kid-sized wading pool.

And, it has a bar. As a kid, that was some mysterious place that you were forbidden to enter. We’d gaze in to see what was up.

I swear, looking into the bar, now, it looks like the same people sitting there sipping their cocktails – they must be the kids of the adults we used to look at.

There are swimming and sailing classes for kids and young adults offered throughout the year and plenty to do for the adults, too.

The image shows the Kāne‘ohe Yacht Club as we knew it as kids, in a pre-1966 postcard noted in “The History of Kaneohe Yacht Club” book. (This is the way I remember the club from small-kid times.)

I have added a few additional photos of KYC and the area in a folder of like name in the Photos section of my Facebook page.

Images of Old Hawaiʻi

People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

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Hoʻokuleana LLC is a Planning and Consulting firm assisting property owners with Land Use Planning efforts, including Environmental Review, Entitlement Process, Permitting, Community Outreach, etc. We are uniquely positioned to assist you in a variety of needs.